Style text

You can apply formatting (styling attributes) to a whole block of text or to individual characters in a text block.

To format one or more characters in a text block

1. In the Toolbox, select the Text  tool.

2. Drag the Text tool over the text to select the text you want to format.

3. In the Properties panel, in the Text category, make the following changes:

   • Font   Select a font in the Font gallery.

   • Size   In the Type Size list, select a text size, or click the field to type a specific size. By default, text size is specified in points (1/72 of an inch).

     Tip

     To change the way text size is specified, on the Edit menu, point to Options, and then click Units and Grids. On the Units and Grids pane, under Units, in the Type units list, select the measuring units you prefer.

   • Color and stroke   Each character in a block of text is considered a separate object and can have its own fill and stroke settings. Change these settings in the Properties panel, in the Appearance category. For more information, see Using fills and strokes.

     

   • Alignment   While all the previous formatting can apply to individual characters, the horizontal alignment formatting always applies to a whole block of text. For ordinary text and text on a path, you can select from among the Left, Center, and Right alignment buttons. For area text, you can also select the Justify or Justify All options. (Justify All is also named force justified.)

     

   • Leading   Controls the amount of vertical space between lines in a text block. By default, Microsoft Expression Design applies an automatic amount of leading between lines. Change this setting in the Leading list in the Text category. Leading is set as a percentage of font size. Click the field to type your own percentage value. You can change the leading of selected characters, but Expression Design applies the leading value of the last character in each line of text to the whole line.

     Leading set to Auto (left), 80 percent (middle), and 120 percent (right)

     

   • Tracking   Controls the horizontal space between individual characters. In the Text category, in the Tracking list, change the tracking of one or more characters. A positive tracking value adds space to the right of each selected character. A negative value removes space. This makes the spacing tighter. If you want to adjust the spacing between two adjacent characters (also named kerning), select only the first character of the pair and apply tracking to it. Double-click the Tracking field to type your own setting.

     Tracking set to 100 percent (top), -5 percent (middle), and 5 percent (bottom)

     

   • Horizontal scaling   Change how wide each character appears by adjusting the Horizontal Scale. The space between the characters is also scaled.

     Setting horizontal scaling to 100 percent (top), 80 percent (middle), and 120 percent (bottom)

     

   • Base line offset   Use the Base line offset control to move one or more characters up or down from their usual baseline.

     Here, every other character has a baseline shift of 8 points

     

   • Super/Subscript   Click either the Superscript or Subscript button to change the baseline shift and size of selected text. To remove this formatting, select the text, and then click Normal.

     Superscript and subscript characters in a block of text

     

See also

Reference

Properties panel

Send feedback about this topic to Microsoft. © 2011 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.